'I'm allergic to my girlfriend's cat - so I'm demanding she gets rid of it'
Pet allergies are common, and while it's easy for you not to own a cat or a dog if you're allergic, it's harder to avoid other people who might be pet owners - especially if you end up dating one.
And one man has found himself in a tricky situation, as his girlfriend of two years recently moved into his flat and brought her cat with her, which has triggered allergies the man didn't know he had.
The man explained in a post on Reddit that he didn't know about the allergy before his girlfriend moved in, because although he experienced mild symptoms, he always put it down to pollen allergies rather than her cat.
The man is allergic to cats (stock photo) (Getty Images/Westend61)But now the pair are living together and the moggy, named Riley, is around him more often, he's found his allergies are getting to an "extreme level".
He wrote in his post: "My girlfriend and I have been dating for almost 2 years and I asked her to move into my apartment (it's much larger than hers, so it made sense).
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"Having decided to move in she brought her cat, Riley, with her. She has had Riley for eight years now and it brought her tons of happiness. The issue is I am allergic to cats. Like, super allergic. I develop hives, I start coughing, and I get these really watery eyes.
"I didn't know this was a problem before we moved in as, while we were dating, she used to just come over to my apartment as it was close to both the school she started working at and my university (I am in medical school). I would occasionally get watery eyes when she was around, but I always just chalked it up to pollen as it was never severe enough to care. Now though, it is getting to an extreme level."
Seeing no other solution, the man started investigating the possibility of rehoming Riley, and even spoke to some of his girlfriend's friends to see if they would take Riley in.
But when he approached his partner with his idea, she was furious and told him she wouldn't be giving Riley up.
He added: "That being said, I know how much she loves Riley so I tried to find the best homes I could that would take her in. All of them are either people we know or people who have a lot of experience with cats. I made a list and then I told my girlfriend about the problem.
"When I asked her to possibly give away Riley, she said she wasn't giving away Riley to an animal shelter. I said of course I would never make her do that, and that's when I showed her the list with all the families. I proposed this to her and that's when she just lost it at me. I don't know what I did wrong."
In a later update to the original post, the man said he had tried a variety of allergy medications and hadn't found anything that worked for him, and insisted he didn't know he was allergic to cats before his girlfriend and Riley moved in.
But commenters on the post were firmly on the girlfriend's side despite the man's health issues, as they said the cat is "like family" to his girlfriend so she shouldn't have to give it away.
One person said: "You should never ask someone with a pet to just get rid of it like that. Pets become people's families. Go back to living separately and see a specialist about your allergies."
While another added: "You decided to try to find a home for Riley BEFORE even asking your girlfriend. That's nervy. I'm sorry you're allergic but don't be surprised if she chooses Riley."
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And a third wrote: "This proposal of getting rid of her cat is not okay. This cat was in her life longer than you were. The best option is to get back to living separately. Best for your health and her well-being."
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